How do you feel about this? I have had customers google a picture of a cake then send it to me and ask me to make it. At first I didnt mind but now Im not so sure. Some customers say " Hey could you make a cake SIMILAR to this?" and some say "Could you make a cake EXACTLY like this?" For those of you who dont copy cakes, how do you politely tell a customer that you dont?
Very interesting question and thank you for posting it. Besides making cakes, I am also a fine art artist. Through the ages artists have always drawn inspiration from the work of others. In other words, creating their own interpretation of a work they have seen. I am certain I have been inspired by looking at other cakes, but in the end I create my own interpretation. That is what makes it yours, and actually more fun to make. If I knew exactly how each of my cakes would look in the end, then it would just be a boring process to get there! The journey is the reward. I would just tell your client that you will do your interpretation of the concept. My cakes are mostly made for charity auctions and bring in as much as $2.500. For instance I recently had to make a very large cake for a swim school. I looked at other cakes for water ideas. I then knew I would make my own piping gel to use for water. Without looking at some of the other cakes I am sure I wouldn't realize all of the possibilities available. But the end cake was unique to me. It is all a rewarding journey.
I always say I could make you something close but not "exactly" like your picture. Sometimes I can't duplicate my own work much less someone else's. You can say you can give someone the same colors and feeling of their picture but perhaps not exact in every detail. People do this because they can't come up with something on their own. They like something they see and want it for themselves. I definitely don't do copyrighted characters but generally speaking your typical cake design is not copyrighted nor do I think it can be. There are very few truly unique things out there, we all take from different influences or blend different things together.
Like Pastrybaglady, I always said that No, I can't make an exact copy. And I too, can't even copy my own work. I would suggest that they let me use their picture for inspiration, and let me make some sketches. I will always remember one bride who kept insisting, No, i want it to look exactly like this picture. No matter what I offered, she wouldn't hear of any option, other than the picture (which was quite boring.) Finally, recognizing that she was going to continue to be a problem, I told her she didn't really need a higher priced wedding cake designer such as myself, that the local bakery would be happy to help her, at probably less cost. I think I dodged a bullet on that one.
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